Hey guys! I know this is on my account, but this is being written by two authors. Two. So, if you are in any way confused by change of writing style/characters/something else that I can't think of right now, this should clear it up.
Phoenix Quill is my pet author (oh, how I hope she never reads this). She has graciously agreed to write this with me, and I'm not at all sure on how it's going to turn out. Possibly; it will become a Novella, instead of a Novel.
But, anyway, we are combining our awesomeness together to create something... unimaginable.
So.
Cheers, SW.
PS: I'm going to call Phoenix Quill 'PQ', but I'm not entirely sure if she likes that. Let's keep that a secret, shall we?
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Oh dear Merlin, not again.

"Victoire! Wait! Please, I want to talk!" I tried not to glance back at Seth as he ran behind me, shouting, attracting the attention of all the parents and kids around us.

"Go away, Seth! We're over! Case closed, goodbye!" Seth shook his head as if my words were raindrops he could shake away with a vigorous spin of the head.

"Babe, can we talk? I'll get you flowers, chocolate, whatever - " Okay, that was it. I span and pressed my wand into his neck.

"Seth, listen very carefully. We. Are. Over. Now go, before I have to hex you." My idiot ex swallowed and ran away, back to his friends who were laughing their asses off. I sighed in relief, and froze as I heard applause.

"Very nice, Vicky. I like the way you handle morons." I grinned and spun around to see Teddy Lupin, whose hair colour of the day, violet, was attracting attention from everyone. I hugged him, breathing in the familiar scent of my best friend.

"Well, someone's happy to see me." I grinned up at him, staring into his white eyes - yes, he picked white today - and laughed.

"I'm just glad that I have someone to protect me from Seth. Now c'mon, the train's leaving in fifteen minutes, and I have to say goodbye to my parents." Teddy's smile collapsed for a second, but he mustered up another one. I rubbed his back and untangled myself from his arms.

"C'mon, we have to go face the clingy mother." I walked away, hand grasping Teddy's as we scanned for my mother. I had barely been looking for a minute when a silvery-blonde head of hair obscured my vision and I was swept up in a hug from my mother.

"Oh, Victoire, do be safe zis school year. I do not want you to get hurt. Teddy, take good care of my darling daughter." I was being suffocated while this exchange went on, and Teddy, thank Merlin, recognized that.

"Of course I will, Mrs Weasley. I'll fight off the hordes." My mother laughed and released me, letting me suck in a lungful of air.

"Oh, my darling, you must leave now. Ze train leaves in ten minutes, and I do not want you to be late!" I smiled and nodded, knowing just to go along with it. I grabbed my trunk and owl cage, my barn owl Gudrun hooting sleepily and blinking at me. I smiled at her as Teddy grabbed his own things, including his owl, Zeke.

"C'mon, Teddy boy, we should get on the Express before it gets out of here." He gave me a grin, making his eyes flash gold, and shoved me onto the train, laughing as he pulled himself up. We prowled, looking for a spare compartment. We finally found one empty of giggling second years, immediately running in and throwing our cases up into the shelves. I sat down by the window and spread out while Teddy sat across from me.

"Have you seen how much homework I have to do? If I manage to become a teacher, I'm not giving out nearly half as much as Professor Wallaway." Teddy had always wanted to follow in his dad's path and become a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and since he'd had an almost perfect exam last year, it seemed fairly likely, as long as he did well this year.

"There's no 'managing' about it. You're sure to be able to. You're amazing, trust me." Teddy blushed and muttered something self-deprecating. I stood and sat next to him, arm around his shoulders.

"Teddy, you're the smartest boy I know when it comes to Defence Against the Dark Arts. There is nothing holding you back except you." Teddy looked up at me, his eyes a deep clear blue.

"You really mean it?" I nodded, rubbing his back.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Teddy looked at me, smiling again.

"There was this one time...remember in third year?" I laughed, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"That was an exception. You pushed me into the Black Lake, for Merlin's sake! I needed some form of quick, easy revenge, and having you join me was a good one!"

"It was freezing! You told me the teachers put an anti-pneumonia spell on it so I'd jump in, but it was so cold I'm still shocked it wasn't ice!"

We dissolved into laughter, remembering the look on my face when he shoved me in, laughing at me the entire time, and my straight-faced lying as I conned him into joining me.

I heard the door slide open, making me look up. Leila Bell, my friend since first year, was standing in the doorway, with Tyler Fergus, Teddy's friend, standing behind her. I grinned at them.

"C'mon guys, we won't bite." Teddy changed his teeth into fangs and mockingly snapped his jaw, grinning as he did so. We all laughed, Leila and Tyler sitting down across from us. I looked straight into Leila's jewel green eyes, very seriously.

"Did you, or did you not, punch my sorry ass ex in the face?" Leila laughed, tossing her ebony hair, a stark contrast to my own silvery-blonde hair exactly like my mother's own.

"He wanted to see you. Kept claiming you'd never broken up with him and all it would take was some chocolates and flowers and you'd be in his arms again. So yeah, I did what I had to do." I laughed and gave her a high-five.

Yes, a high-five.

What, you expect wizards and witches to come up with our own thing? When there are Muggles to steal perfectly good things from?

Tyler was already raving about the newest broomstick in the Firebolt line, the Seeker 5000 something or other. Both him and Teddy were in the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Tyler as Beater and Teddy as Chaser.

Did I mention our houses? Oops, better do that. Teddy and Tyler were in Gryffindor. Leila was in Ravenclaw, thanks to her incredible brain power and occasional insanity.

And me...

I was in Slytherin.

Yes, a Weasley, in Slytherin.

Please, take a moment to recover from your shock.

Okay, you should be good now.

Yeah, the Sorting Hat placed me in Slytherin. Want to hear the story? It goes a little something like this...

Once upon a time, way back in first year, Victoire Weasley was going to Hogwarts. She got on the train and met Leila, who was being hurt by some mean guys. Victoire went up to them with her newly purchased wand out and threatened to cut their spleens out if they hurt Leila anymore. They'd scampered off, and the two girls became fast friends.

Later, at the Great Hall, Victoire Weasley had the Sorting Hat placed on her head. It mulled over what house she would be in, then it must have seen the scene on the train. Laughing, it had placed her in Slytherin.

The frigging end.

I was the first Weasley to be placed in Slytherin for...well, since Weasley's have been going to Hogwarts. My dad and other relatives weren't too happy about in, until all of the girls shouted at them, especially my mum.

After that, they were too scared to comment on what house I was in. A pissed off Weasley clan and a pissed off quarter Veela is a force to be reckoned with.

"Hey, Vicky, we should get changed. We're fifteen minutes away from the station." I nodded and looked at Teddy. He frowned, then realised, nodding quickly and grabbing his robes. I waited until he and Tyler had left, then charmed the doors locked, adding in opaque windows as an afterthought. I stripped off my shirt and jeans, pulling on my uniform, including the silver and green tie that distressed my family for so long. Leila was in hers in seconds, having perfected the art of dressing quickly. I was barely dressed when the boys knocked on the door again. I unlocked the door, clearing the glass at the same time, and let Tyler and Teddy back in. Leila looked out the window at the approaching town of Hogsmeade.

"Okay, grab your trunks, owls, and anything else you brought, because we're about to get off. Like...now." As if Leila had charmed it to respond to her words, the train started slowing. I grabbed my trunk and Gudrun's cage from next to Teddy's stuff, groaning a little as I lifted it down. Teddy looked at me, his jewel-blue eyes exactly matching my own, and grinned, helping me get my trunk off the stupidly high shelves. I nodded in thanks as he effortlessly grabbed his own trunk. I went out the door and paused, waiting for everyone.

"C'mon, we're wasting time. We could be picking the best carriage by now!" Everyone laughed, including me, as my friends finally joined me in the corridor of the train. I saw Seth heading my way from behind us and gulped, picking up Gudrun in one hand and levitating my trunk with the other as I ran, trusting Teddy and Leila to make a blockage so Seth couldn't reach me. I stopped at the doors to check, and saw Seth backing away as Leila and Teddy pocketed their wands. They ran back to me, laughing, Tyler walking behind at a more sophisticated pace.

"Okay, let's go find a carriage, fussy woman." I smiled and punched Teddy's arm lightly as we went over to the carriages, waving at the huge figure that was Hagrid as we passed him.

"Blimey, you're getting tall, Victoire. You too, Teddy. I'll be seein' ya later." I grinned at him and continued, spotting our carriage, blessedly empty. Teddy broke into a sprint and jumped up into it, claiming it before anyone else spotted it. We clambered in after him, throwing our trunks onto the roof. Leila secured them and got in last, her miniature owl Pip on her shoulder. He hooted happily as the carriage started moving, sending us all lurching sideways. I ended up with my head in Teddy's lap, which weirdly made him blush. I sat up and smiled lazily at him, noticing his hair had turned bright pink. I leant out of the carriage door, hair being tangled by the breeze, and shouted into the air.

"Hogwarts, here we come!"

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Ah, the feast. Full of laughter, reunited friends and stuffing your gob. We'd waited as the new Hogwarts Headmaster, Professor Slughorn, gave the opening speech. The first years had been given a house, and Slytherin gained a very crafty looking bunch. Finally, the food had appeared, and we'd started eating.

I was surrounded by boys. That meant that I was surrounded by savage sounds as they tore into meat. Had they never heard of a knife and fork? Or general table manners?

I took a bite of potato to distract myself, and groaned inwardly as I saw Seth coming my way. He sat down next to me despite my obvious disgust and even tried to give me a peck on the cheek.

"Hey babe, didn't see you on the train. Why didn't you sit with me?" I swallowed my mouthful and turned to look at him, seeing his brown eyes light up.

"Okay, first of all, I am not your 'babe'. We broke up, dipshit. Secondly, I didn't want to see you on the train, because you're severely annoying. Third, I didn't sit with you because I have no desire to lose brain cells. So go away, please." He frowned, running a hand through his disgusting shoulder-length mane of hair, the same colour as his eyes.

"But - " I held up a hand and stood, standing over him. I could tell that my eyes were turning an icy-blue colour, which I used to my advantage.

"Go away, leave me in peace, and understand that I have no wish to see you or your friends ever again. Now leave." He stood, gulping, and scampered away. I sat down, sighing.

Why the hell did I agree to go out with him in the first place?

Oh yeah, because he made me feel guilty about hurting his feelings.

Note to self, never date because you feel bad about them.

I pushed away my plate and went over to sit with Teddy, who was actually eating at a reasonable rate. Tyler, on the other hand, was shoving his mouth full of beef whilst talking to Teddy. Ugh.

"Someone, please, get Tyler a napkin. And an advanced course on meal etiquette. And quickly." Tyler grinned at me, showing me a mouthful of half-chewed food. I gagged and sat down next to Teddy, throwing a napkin at Tyler. Teddy grinned at me and pushed over a plate.

"Sorry 'bout him, he never fully recovered from when his parents threw him at a wall in disgust when he was born." Tyler gave him the finger, still chewing away. He swallowed, taking a sip of pumpkin juice, and faced Teddy straight on.

"It's not my fault my parents were shocked at how good-looking their son was. It was a wonder they didn't set up a shrine in my honour." Teddy snorted, having a bite of his carrot.

"Yeah, a shrine, to pray you didn't get any uglier." I gave him a high-five for that one, under the table so I didn't get kicked.

"Hey, the chicks dig me. They love the brown hair and hazel eyes. Makes them fall over their own feet. Right, Leila?" My friend raised a slim eyebrow, a move she'd perfected at a young age.

"Please. They fall over trying to get away from you." I laughed, earning me a glare from Tyler. He turned back to Leila.

"Oh, c'mon, babe, you know you want me." Leila had a sip of her pumpkin juice before she answered.

"Only in your dreams. And so much sick stuff happens there that it makes me disgusted I feature in them." Tyler winked at her, still with his mouth stuffed to comical proportions.

"Eugh. I'm leaving. Please, control your dog." Leila walked over to the Ravenclaw table, pretending to throw up. I laughed and put down my fork.

"Well, I'm off too. I'll see you in class tomorrow." Teddy gave me a hug before I walked away, smiling.

I went down the stairs slowly, not wanting to get there too soon, but I couldn't stretch out the walk forever. Soon, I came to the archway. I'd found this place two years ago, when I was sad. I'd walked out of the archway and seen it. A giant oak tree, seeming to radiate peace and happiness. I couldn't resist. I went over and climbed, high into the branches, until finally everything seemed to slip away and it was just me, the sky, and the limbs of the tree around me. I'd sat there for hours, watching the sun slip below the horizon, until Hagrid had found me, sleeping in the highest branch. He'd taken me to his hut, and I'd woken up in the morning feeling more peaceful than I ever remembered being.

It had become my sanctuary, my place that was mine alone.

Not even Teddy knew about it.

I walked over and started climbing up the smooth branches, the familiar scent of the tree enfolding me like a hug from an old friend. I could feel myself becoming relaxed as I went higher and higher into the tree, finally reaching my branch, a smooth limb that seemed to be shaped exactly so I could lie on it. I sank back and let myself go, looking up at the stars.

Nothing could touch me here. Not even my past.

I closed my eyes and let myself drift.

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When I opened my eyes again, it was ten o'clock. I swore and clambered down the branches, cursing at myself for falling asleep. I made it down and ran back into the castle, down stairs to the dungeons where my common room was. As I reached the wall, a problem occurred to me. I didn't know the password.

"Merlin's beard, what's the damn password!" I could hear Peeves laughing at me, making me duck. A water balloon hit above my head, sending me crawling backwards to avoid being splashed. I saw Peeves whizzing around a corner and shouted a curse at him.

So, I was stuck outside my common room, not knowing the password, inches away from being drenched by the resident poltergeist. Where was I supposed to go?

My feet started taking me before my mind made its decision. I ran up the stairs until I reached Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady smiled at me, recognizing me from previous visits.

"I'll go get Ted, dear. Stay put." She drifted away, presumably to the portrait in the common room. I could hear muffled shouting, and someone getting off the couch that had the tendency to swallow you. The Fat Lady returned seconds before the portrait swung open and Teddy's face, now with green eyes and white hair, appeared. I grinned and walked in, absorbing the warmth that our common room lacked. Teddy closed the portrait and came over, wrapping his arms around me.

"Got locked out of your common room, didn't you?" I sighed and leaned into his embrace.

"Sometimes I think the Hat made a mistake. I should be here with you. Not over there. I don't have any Slytherin friends." Teddy put his lips by my ear.

"Victoire, it doesn't matter where you are. Someone loves you, no matter which house you're in, or if you have any friends, or if you think you don't belong. Just remember that." He planted a kiss on my cheek, slipping his arms off me and coming around to my front.

"Now, you need somewhere to sleep. I can think of a place." I grinned and put my hand in his, linking together like two puzzle pieces, and we went up to his dorm.

Teddy looked around at the sleeping figures and shrugged. "They won't mind. Did you...bring pyjamas?" I shook my head.

"That's not weird, right? I'll just sleep in my underwear. You don't mind, right?" Teddy shook his head, his hair turning pink. I smiled and started stripping down to my bra and underwear, praying to whoever was listening that none of Teddy's roommates woke up. I turned, now only wearing my underwear, and saw Teddy holding one of his shirts, a simple button up plaid one.

"Oh. Yeah, I could wear that. Thanks." I slipped it on, noticing it was almost a dress on me, and buttoned it up. Teddy swallowed, and I noticed for the first time he was only wearing flannelette bottoms. I grinned and got into his bed, snuggling in and breathing in his distinct aroma, a mix of spices and comfort. The bed dipped slightly as he joined me, cuddling up to me in the bed.